


Scales of Reishi book 1

by Crafty_Cosplayz1



Series: Hetalia [3]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:26:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26218600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crafty_Cosplayz1/pseuds/Crafty_Cosplayz1
Summary: Matthieu Williams is a simple blacksmiths apprentice, who lives a carefree life on the island of Reishi with his three Viking uncles; and soon to be Viking brother. The only problem is the island is crawling with vicious beasts who could swallow a man whole. Dragons. Matthieu is obsessed with the beasts, even if they haunt him.One day Matthieu and his older brother spot a duo of wyverns in the forest. Everything seems to go downhill as Matthieu fears of his family plans on killing the wyverns become a harsh reality when his brother shoots one out of the sky. How does his love for the dragons change everyone's lives?This is an AU inspired by the How to train your dragon movies... I made this particular AU by myself without the influence of any other dragon Au's for hetalia... so yeah if there is another HTTYD AU out there it's probably very different to mine...The characters in hetalia aren't mine. I only own the storyline for Scales of Reishi. just wanted to say that now...
Relationships: America/Russia (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), England/France (Hetalia)
Series: Hetalia [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1603333
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

Laughing Matthieu threw another snowball at his brother. The ball of snow exploded on the older’s face. “Hey!” Alfred shouted as he went to scoop snow into his hands. Watching Matthieu repeated the action only to stop when his brother gasped.  
“What’s wrong Al’?” Matthieu asked, watching his brother who stared back with wide eyes. Following his brothers line of sight Matthieu turned around. Once he turned he came face to face with a auburn colored beast.  
Letting out a shriek Matthieu jumped away from the beast. “Matthieu?!” He could hear his father shouting from inside. The door to their home burst open, as a short blonde man ran to their side. The blonde yelled at the beast and flailed his arms in an attempt to frighten it.  
The beast only purred in response and lunges forward. The auburn wings hit the snow before the brothers, covering them in a layer of frost before they picked up again.  
The beast took to the air, two pairs of wings used to pick itself up. Once the beast was in the air the brothers could see the blonde man now struggling in the talons if the beast.  
“Arthur!” The brothers snapped their attention over to the new arrivals. Their uncles ran out of the door with their weapons ready to attack. “Allistar!” The blonde man shouted back. It was followed by a blood curdling scream before the man went limp in the beasts hold.  
A few drops of blood landed on Matthieu’s face, making the boy shriek.  
——  
Jumping out of his bed Matthieu hit the hardwood of the floor. Panting he slowly caught his breath, even putting a hand to his cheek to make sure the blood was gone. Sighing when his pale hand came back clean.  
Looking across his bedroom Matthieu spotted his older brother, Alfred, laying sprawled out on the bed they shared. Alfred snored loudly as he slept tangled in the wools linens.  
Picking himself up off the floor Matthieu looked outside of their rooms window. The wooden flap being held up by Matthieu’s hand revealed the sun barely peaking over the horizon. Grumbling a bit Matthieu began to dress himself.  
In a matter of minutes he had gotten himself into his red cotton shirt, linen pants, laced leather boots, and black fur cloak. Going through the wooden door of his shared bedroom, Matthieu could now hear his uncles downstairs doing their morning activities.  
Going down the tree that had been carved into a set of stairs. “Morning lad” his oldest uncle, Allistar, greeted when he reached the bottom. “Morning” Matthieu replied through a yawn. He jumped when a golden brown bun hit against his cheek.  
“And your dead...” Patrick his third uncle reprimanded. Patrick was soon smacked over the head by Dylan. “Don’t play with your food Patrick” Dylan scolded. Patrick chuckled “I’m just trying to get his reflexes better.”  
“He doesn’t need to be a Viking he already has a job so I would appreciate if you stopped making him feel bad about I-“ Matthieu shut the door to the home as Dylan finished. The air was chilly even though it wasn’t snowy.  
Walking away from the home Matthieu began to walk to the tree line. He’d walked his path everyday for the past fourteen years, and felt perfectly safe on the path. At the end of the winding path was a stone with a name carved into it.  
Kneeling before the stone Matthieu closed his eyes, “hey dad.” He started. “Pat still wants me to become a Viking. He thinks that blacksmithing isn’t a good job for me...” Matthieu laughed a bit. He was about to begin speaking once more before a loud noise swept through the air.  
Eyes widening Matthieu whispered a quick ‘i love you’ before running towards the noise. He hit a rock and climbed toward the top. Looking over the top his eyes widened. In a field of forget me nots, stood two dragons. One, a white scaled dragon with red and blue eyes, jumped around and snorted at the taller. Matthieu guesses the first one was a young female due to its short stature. The second dragon however was the perfect example of a male wyvern, tall, menacing, and calm. The second was a dark green with a soft yellow underbelly, it’s eyes were as blue as the ocean.  
The male dragon let out a snort as the female spreads it wings in a show of friendship. Matthieu sat there fascinated at the display before him, dragons always were a fascinating thing to him even if he would always have a fear of the creatures.  
Matthieu jumped as a stick snapped behind him, whipping around he saw Alfred with his dopey grin. “What are you doing?” Alfred asked as if he had caught Matthieu watching an intimate scene. Matthieu put his finger in front of his mouth aggressively, Alfred just snorted and climbed up to rest beside him.  
Once Alfred was beside him the older scoffed at the sight. The older began to stand as the dragons chirped at each other. Matthieu tried to stop him but his hands were shaken free from Alfred’s arm. “Hey!” Alfred yelled as he jumped off of the rock.  
Both dragons jumped and the female growls at Alfred. The female swivels it’s head at the male and shrieked, the male got the message and took flight. The female soon followed, and just as quickly as they had arrived they were gone. The only evidence of their arrival was a spot of crushed grass where the male had sat.  
“You know you don’t have to be afraid of those pests Matthieu. Most of the time if you scare them they will scamper off” Alfred called when he had climbed back up the rock. “They were just playing I wasn’t going to interrupt.” Matthieu responded, his head down in embarrassment. Alfred laughed and ruffled his hair. “We’ll be careful I wouldn’t want you to get swept away before my big day.” Alfred laughed.  
“You make it sound like your going to be married Al’” Matthieu laughed at his brothers antics. “Meh! I’m going on my first ever voyage in two weeks Matthieu, I’m practically going to be an adult” Alfred shook off his earlier statement. “You’re already an adult Al’” Matthieu corrected.  
“Whatever!” Alfred laughed as he ‘heroically’ scooped up Matthieu and jumped off the rock. Matthieu has let out a small scream when it happened. He glared at Alfred once he was on the ground again.  
“Come on. Let’s go say hi to Artie and then head back home, we both have work” Alfred stated and began to walk back to the winding path.  
—  
Metal coins clinked as Matthieu counted them in his palm. “Yep this is seven. Here you go” Matthieu said while putting the coins in his coin pouch, and putting a sheathed blade on the dark wood countertop.  
The man mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ before leaving. Matthieu knew the man well, he would come to their shop every once and a while, sometimes with a young boy, and sometimes with a man Matthieu had mistaken as his betrothed. His name was Berwald, and Matthieu only learned that through his friendship with Emil.  
Emil was the apprentice to Lukas, who had the job of healer in their village. The boy was shy, and Matthieu was sure he only became friends with Matthieu because both had no friends outside of their families. “Matthieu!” The shout made Matthieu jumped. “Sorry!” He yelled back and quickly jumped back to work.


	2. Chapter 2

Matthieu sat down beside Emil as the boy picked herbs. “I don’t believe you” Emil said as he set the plants in a woven basket. “I wouldn’t lie Emil! I saw two dragons!” Matthieu defended himself. “Yeah and I saw an ice giant.” Emil teased in response.   
Before Matthieu could come up with a response Emil stood up, taking the basket in his arms. “Come on it’s going to be night soon” Emil stated and began to walk home. Matthieu sighed as he watched Emil go.   
He heard a purr behind him, and whipped around. Nothing was in the brambles behind him. A lone white scale laid stuck in the bush, which Matthieu quickly grabbed. It shone in the dim light of the sunset.  
—  
Using a wooden spoon Matthieu are more soup. “So you found this in a bush?” Dylan asked, cradling the white scale in his palm as if it were fine linen. Matthieu nodded and set the spoon back into the bowl. He couldn’t help but feel anxious when the scale wasn’t passed back to him.   
It had been snatched out of Dylan’s hands by Allistar, who held it with less respect for the item. “I haven’t seen scales this pure since I was a lad” Allistar said, and handed the white scale back to his nephew. “It must be a magnificent sight. It would be worth a pretty penny if we collected more scales” Allistar suggested.   
The table went quiet, “We shouldn’t-“ dylan was interrupted by Patrick. “Why not dylan?! We need the money!” The male had shouted. “We can’t go killing dragons Patrick! What are these two going to do if we die? Did you even think about that?” Dylan yelled back at Patrick, the younger of the two crossed his arms and sat back. Allistar shook his hands out “I didn’t mean we go out and kill it, I meant we go and watch it and get the scales it sheds, and if we can kill it then why shouldn’t we. It would make life easier and we wouldn’t have to worry about it.”   
“I can look out for it tonight.” Alfred suddenly brought up from his seat beside Matthieu. “If your going to do that might as well shoot it down” Allistar responded while rubbing the stubble on his chin. Alfred seemed unsure, but nodded anyways. “Well alright. You need more time to watch out for dragons so why don’t you and Matthieu watch out for it tonight.” Allistar agreed.   
—  
“You are not going to shoot down that dragon Alfred.” Matthieu chastised from his seat nearby. He had been drawing the two beasts and the scale in a small journal he’d been gifted years before during the three hours they had been outside.   
“Have some faith in me Mattie” Alfred whines loudly. Closing his journal, Matthieu set it down on the floorboards now lightly dusted with pollen. “I doubt it will show up” Matthieu replies in a snort. His brother sighed and slumped his shoulders slightly. “Maybe we should go inside for tonight, uncle Al wouldn’t be mad at us.” Matthieu suggested softly.   
Alfred shook his head quickly “no I want to watch even if it doesn’t show up!” As if the dragons heard his the loud flapping of wings came into both of them. Gasping Matthieu hit under the roof of the home as Alfred looked around in the navy blue sky. Alfred quickly picked up with wooden bow from the grass. Pulling an arrow out of the sleeve on the ground Alfred pulled it onto his bows string.   
Pulling back until the string was taught Alfred looked up at the sky. The brothers sat in silence, waiting for the beasts to arrive. The only sound in the sky was the loud whip of air against wings. “Mattie!” Alfred whispered, gaining the blondes attention. Alfred gestured to the net laying at Matthieu’s feet.   
Understanding his brothers demands Matthieu got up and took the net to him reluctantly. The net was quite heavy, but Matthieu had held heavier in his job. He was about to head back to the house when a large gust of wind broke past the two of them. Matthieu lost his footing at some point and was left to watch the underbellies of the two beasts.  
Alfred gasped loudly, but thankfully the beasts didn’t hear it over the wind. Aiming his bow Alfred waited, waited, and waited; until he struck home. The arrow flew from it place on the bow, flying towards the white scaled beast. The brothers didn’t know wether the arrow struck until a loud shriek filled the air.   
Not even a second later the net was in the air, giving the injured beast no chance to escape. The white scaled beast shriek as it fell towards the earth. The second beast flew after it quickly calling out in a hoarse yowl. Matthieu tore his eyes off the dragons to look at his brother, who stared back in astonishment.   
“We have to go get it now” Matthieu gulped more to himself than his brother. Alfred was about to respond when the door slammed open behind them. “What was that?!” Dylan yelled from the door, his usually put together self was now disheveled. His shirt was untucked and his pants were barely buttoned.   
“I shot it!” Alfred yelled excited as his other uncles came out of the home. “You what?!” Patrick yelled as he ran over, the elder began to shake Alfred’s shoulders quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you sure it fell this way” Matthieu argues towards his brother. Alfred groaned for the umpteenth time that day. “Yes Mattie! I’m sure it fell this way!” Alfred said in his usually cheery tone. Matthieu knew it must be a chore to keep the cheery tone with Matthieu constantly questioning his brothers navigation skills.   
Matthieu knew the exact spot the dragon should be in, and this was not it. He felt bad for the poor beast. It had been two days since alfred had shot it down and Alfred wouldn’t listen to him enough to actually find it. “If we don’t find it soon it’s going to die” Matthieu scolded.   
“Well then why don’t you take us to it?!” Alfred finally snapped. Matthieu smiled slightly, turning to his left and beginning to walk that way. He knew Alfred was following him in defeat.   
——  
After an hour of endless walking they arrived at a path of broken trees. Following the trees closely Matthieu led Alfred down the winding path. At the end they could hear shrieking and then whimpers. Before them was the white scaled beast. Although it seemed meek and small now that it was caught.   
Matthieu gasped when he saw its wings, the dragon was covered in a thick red blood that sprained the ropes tangled around its body. It’s wings were sliced in multiple spots as seemed to split more as it thrashed about in a vain attempt to break itself free.   
The dragon froze though when Matthieu gasped. Letting out a warning growl as it spotted them. For the first time Matthieu could see it’s red eyes that swirled with blue at the middle. He barely noticed Alfred had unsheathed his blade until he was stepping towards the bound beast. “What are you doing?” Matthieu asked grabbing Alfred’s shoulder quickly.  
“What do you think? I’m going to put it out if it’s mystery, a grounded dragon is a dead dragon it’s either I kill it or something else kills it” Alfred responded turning to Matthieu. “But don’t worry I will make it quick. Just look away and cover your ears” Alfred reassured his younger brother. Alfred walked towards the beast as Matthieu watched behind him. He supposed it wasn’t the worst way for this to play out, Alfred was right after all. The dragon wouldn’t last much longer without its wings.   
Although when he looked at the eyes of the beast shut closed, as if in understanding, made Matthieu’s heart clench. “Stop!” He yelled before his brother could deliver his blow. Alfred jumped slightly, he whipped his head around quickly so he could look at Matthieu. Alfred seemed to understand why, but when he turned back Matthieu ran towards his brother.   
“Al please don’t do it!” Matthieu pleaded as he pushed his full weight against his brother. He seemed to cause enough of a surprise that Alfred threw him to the ground. Alfred huffed a breath as he looked down at his brother before looking back at his knife, and then towards the beast. He closed his eyes for a moment as if he was concentrating on which choice to make.   
After a moment his grip on the handle tightens, and Alfred takes a deep breath. Matthieu watched with relief when Alfred used the blade to saw through the ropes. Once it’s wings were freed Alfred was knocked back by the mangled wings swinging down. Matthieu only was a cloud of dirt before he was pulled to his feet by Alfred, who was pulling him back.   
Both stopped though when the dust dispersed around them. Matthieu saw wings folding into a pale back in a flash. Gaping Matthieu looked at the new sight, where the beats once laid was now a young male who was gasping in pain. The man looked towards them, their pupils seemed to turn to slivers as they hissed lightly. The man had silver hair that only the moon could compete against, and was covered head to toe in silver scales that looked like the freckles covering Patrick.   
The man tried to get on their feet, but winced in pain as they fell back into the dirt. Alfred and Matthieu shared the same bewildered stare for a moment before Matthieu looked back at the struggling figure. He took a step forwards, the man snapped their head towards him, brilliant eyes filled with fear. Matthieu put his hands up as he took another step towards the man. The man hissed and his hair bristled up as if an angered cat.  
“Mattie what are you doing that thing is dangerous!” Alfred yelled and pulled him backwards by his cotton shirt. Matthieu only watched the beast, and the growing pool underneath it. “It’s hurt Al” Matthieu responded all while not taking his eyes off the man. Alfred grumbled when he was shaken off of Matthieu, the younger going towards the injured male before them.   
The man shook as Matthieu touched its back. Through his hand Matthieu could feel the male start to hyperventilate. “Sh shhh! Relax I’m not going to hurt you” Matthieu reassured and began to rub the mans back lightly. He didn’t realize Alfred was beside him until the man hissed in pain, Alfred seemed to take Matthieu’s reassurance as time to move in. Alfred was now cradling the mans bleeding arm in his lap, rolling up the white sleeve with his hands to reveal a deep blue on the inside.   
“He’s going to need medical attention.” Alfred claimed looking over the males cuts, they were angry looking and seemed to be bruising. “Their infected” Alfred stared as he moved one of the purple cuts. He man whimpered in pain when Alfred did so writhing around time get away, but Alfred held on tight. Matthieu shushed the male once more and rubbed his back once more. “How are we supposed to get him medical attention? Emil and Lukas are scared of dragons” Matthieu questioned.   
“Tino isn’t” Alfred responded while standing. Matthieu and the man watched him begin to walk away. “You can’t just bring him out here! Berwald is going to kill you if you scare Tino” Matthieu yelled back to Alfred. Alfred waved him off and continued walking.   
When Alfred was gone Matthieu turned his attention back to the man now curling in on himself. The robe he was wearing surprisingly moved with his legs. Matthieu made eye contact with him, but they quickly darted their eyes away. “Do you know English?” Matthieu found himself asking after a minute. The man blinked as if surprised before shaking his head. “Can you understand what I’m saying?” Matthieu asked, hoping the answer was a yes. The man nodded and tried to use his arms as crutches beneath him.   
Although the mans arms slipped out from underneath him as quickly as they were out there. Matthieu lightly grasped his mid section and pulled him up into a sitting position. The man leaned on him and Matthieu could feel how tense he was. “Put your arms on my shoulders so you don’t bleed as much” Matthieu suggested, and the man begrudgingly listened.   
“G-geillb-beart...” the man chokes out suddenly. “Is that your name?” Matthieu asked quickly. He could feel the man nod from his spot at his side. “Did you mean Gilbert?” Matthieu added, hoping the jumbled mess of letters wasn’t his actual name. Another nod, although it was smaller. “Never-ha thought I would meet a dragon.” Matthieu laughed and felt a small purr in response.   
Gilbert put his head on Matthieu’s shoulder as if to sleep. Matthieu quickly snapped his fingers in Gilbert’s ear. “My brothers getting somebody for your wounds try and stay awake until they gets back” Matthieu scolded. Gilbert hissed lightly from his shoulder, but lifted his head up.  
——  
“Jones get back here” Alfred squeaked as he quickly went back to walking as fast as he could. He had a leather bag and a blonde man slung over his shoulder and he wasn’t going to get caught this close to his victory. “Please put me down” Tino whined from his spot over Alfred’s shoulder.   
“Sorry Tino but I said there was something you would want to see and Mattie is going to kill me if I go back empty handed” Alfred responded quickly while breathing heavily. “Wait that sounded like- you know what never mind” Alfred added before shaking his head.   
Spotting the clearing Alfred tightened his hold around Tino’s thighs and the bag. “Hold on tino” Alfred warned, he got a confused “huh?!” In response before he jumped off a tiny ledge into the clearing. Tino let out a loud shriek as they did so. Alfred laughed a bit “sorry” he whispered.   
Running to Matthieu and the mans side he set Tino down, and handed him the bag. Tino gasped a bit and quickly got to work looking at the man. Matthieu stepped away a bit to let Tino do his thing.   
He elbowed Alfred in the side with a smile. “His name is Gilbert” Matthieu whispered with a smile. Alfred was about to respond when an angry yell came from the edge of the clearing. Both brothers turned to see a very angry Berwald breaking the tree line with a giggling peter in his arms.   
Alfred squeaked and stood at attention as Berwald walked over to him. Matthieu cowered begins Alfred in the small of his back. “Where is my wife?” Berwald asked through grit teeth. Alfred raised a shaky finger behind him towards Gilbert and Tino. Berwald pushes him aside lightly and sets Peter down.   
Stepping behind Tino Berwald snapped just fingers loudly. Both men jumped, but after a quick look tino relaxed. Gilbert didn’t relax though. If it wasn’t for Tino holding him so tightly he would be shaking like a leaf under the harsh glare he was given. After a few moments Gilbert averted his gaze and made a soft clicking sound with his tongue.   
The brothers watched in confusion but it seemed Berwald had given a warning towards Gilbert. Although Gilbert brought his eyes back to his injuries when Tino used a vile of water and mint to clean his wounds. “Sorry” Tino squeaked when Gilbert winced.   
——  
Matthieu watched over Berwald’s shoulder as they carefully set the injured beast on a pile of soft blankets. Gilbert didn’t move much from his spot after he was set down, but the mixture Tino forced him to drink was responsible for that. “So what is this place?” Peter asked quite loudly. “Hm- oh well I come here from time to time...” Matthieu responded pretending not to notice the raised eyebrow from his brother.   
“It’s a nice spot” Berwald mumbled as he rejoined Tino’s side. Tino nodded with a smile, “what this dingy cave is nice? Never heard somebody say that” Alfred snorted. Matthieu hit him on the back of the head lightly. Berwald blinked a few times before opening his mouth to speak. “You should get home” Berwald said cooly, the very sentence sent a shiver down Matthieu’s spine.   
“Your not going to tell anyone right?” Matthieu asked quickly. Berwald nodded as Tino took his turn to speak. “wouldn’t say a word, everyone had at least one secret they get to keep.” Matthieu couldn’t find the reason behind the second half of Tino’s words, but the first half made him smile.   
“Although your family needs to know” Berwald stated. Although the relief Matthieu had previously was now gone. “They don’t have to know everything” Matthieu reasoned. “They don’t, but they will eventually find out. What will you do then?” Berwald lightly argued back.   
“I don’t know... but they can’t find out about him! They won’t listen to me. They will just kill him without second thought!” Matthieu yelled. “Just please don’t tell them! I would do anything” Matthieu added his pleas.   
Alfred touched his shoulder firmly “Matthieu look. It’s not going to make it. Even if it recovers it won’t be able to live the way it used to anymore.” Matthieu shook off Alfred’s hand and sent him a glare. “Fine we won’t tell them about the dragon; but we will tell them that you broke into my home, ransacked the medical supplies, and kidnapped my wi-Tino” Berwald stated while starring both boys down.   
Alfred gulped and nodded. Matthieu watched as his brother was grabbed by the elbow, and drug from the cave by Berwald. Tino laughed and followed closely behind with peter in his arms. Matthieu looked back at Gilbert quickly. He didn’t know what he was expecting, maybe a brilliant beast that reached the clouds in one fell swoop. He only saw the white haired robe clad male sleeping peacefully on the bedding.   
The only thing that indicated Gilbert was still alive was the small movement on his back when he breathed. “Matthieu” Matthieu jumped at the shout of his name. Turning Matthieu saw Tino standing at the front of the warm cave. “Sorry I’m coming!” Matthieu cried out.  
——  
Matthieu felt small as he watched his uncle scolding Alfred. It had been a long time since the last dinner like this. He wasn’t paying attention to what Allistar was saying though. The only thing he could think of was him in Alfreds place if they ever found Gilbert, and Gilbert’s sleeping face on a head.   
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his uncles. It was that he knew exactly what they were capable of. He’d seen his uncles take down dragons bare handed, and the thought of them finding Gilbert made those skills much scarier.   
A gentle nudge from Emil brought him back to reality. He’d almost forgotten the boy and his brother Lukas were even there; they had joined the family for dinner along with Berwald, peter, and Tino. “It better be a good one two! Or I’m gonna make you wait until next year!” Allistar growled at Alfred.   
Matthieu realized his brother wasn’t at his seat anymore. Instead resting on the floor and saying apologies over apologies. “That isn’t necessary. I just wanted to let you know so this doesn’t happen again” Berwald assured. “It won’t. Right al?” Dylan asked quickly, his smile didn’t match the dark look his eyes gave.   
Alfred nodded quickly and almost fell out of the seat he’d regained. “Great” Dylan’s smiles even more. Lukas stood up quietly. “We should head home its late.” Lukas said in his usually tired tone. Tino nodded and stood up with peter, the boy had been seated in his lap and sleeping after the meal.   
“Goodnight” Tino said over his shoulder as Berwald took the small child from his arms. The five clambered out of the small home, leaving the family to sit in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

Matthieu practically threw off his leather apron when it was time for him to leave work. All day his thoughts were clouded with exciting thought of being able to see Gilbert again. “It’s just to make sure he is okay” Matthieu thought as he grabbed his stuff from under the counter. He hit his head on the countertop on the way back up, but he recovered quickly.  
Time flashed by as he ran from the shop and into the woods. By the time he made it to the entrance of the cave he was winded. Heaving air into his lungs Matthieu waddled into the cave.   
It had been three days since he’d met Gilbert and he was already wanting to see him again. Alfred had told him not to get attached to Gilbert, but Matthieu couldn’t help it. This was a real dragon, albeit the dragon was in a human looking form.   
His thoughts of protest ended when he got to the end of the cave. Gilbert laid in the same spot he was put in three days ago. Matthieu found himself sighing in relief at finding Gilbert still there. Gilbert’s arms looked freshly wrapped, as if Tino had just stopped by to rewrap them.   
Setting his stuff down Matthieu sat on the floor near Gilbert. The dragon looked so peaceful he wouldn’t dare trying to wake it. Instead he looked the dragon over, and his eyes wouldn’t move far from the white hair.   
He wondered if it would feel weird to touch, maybe it was scratchy like a brush. Scooting across the ground Matthieu got closer to the resting individual. Taking in a shaky breath Matthieu reaches his hand out towards the hair.   
Closing his eyes he waited for the hand to be smacked away or bitten. Instead he felt cool hair under his hand.   
Opening his eyes once more Matthieu made sure Gilbert was still sleeping quickly. Sighing a bit, Matthieu felt a hum under his hand and squeaked a bit out of fear. Not moving a muscle Matthieu waited for a negative reaction, but it never came. His hand now rested limply on the top of the white locks of hair.   
Matthieu retracted his fingers almost as quickly as they had been put there. Another hum could be felt through his palm. It almost felt like when his cat, Agatha, would purr as he pet her.   
Deciding to take a risk, for the sake of research, Matthieu began carding his fingers through the white hair. The response was the same as before. Matthieu smirked a bit at this discovery, but squeaked again when his palm was nuzzled into.   
Pulling out the leather journal he always carried, Matthieu flipped to a blank page. Beginning the page with the simple title of ‘Gilbert’. He wrote down the few things he already noticed about him. At some point during his scribbling of letters he felt a tough grip wrap around his wrist. Matthieu almost screamed at the sudden contact.   
Snapping his head in Gilbert’s direction he saw, the very awake, dragon. Being glared at Matthieu tried to pull his wrist away. He managed to pull it loose with little effort from the other. He looked down at his journal once more, not looking at the tired male.   
“Sorry” was all he said to the beast. There was a moment of silence between them before Matthieu felt the others presence at his side. They looked down at the journal and made a noise that reminded Matthieu of a birds chirping. “Oh my journal...” Matthieu said and moved it to his lap, a bit embarrassed at having the page open to this one.   
Gilbert didn’t seem to notice his embarrassment. Instead the male started tracing the drawing Matthieu had drawn on the page before with his finger. His finger lingered on the bigger dragon within in the drawing. “Is that your lo-“ Matthieu was cut off my a series of noises that seemed to make up a word. It sounded like gibberish, but still sounded very satisfying to hear. “What?” He asked sheepishly.   
Gilbert furrowed his brow before gesturing for the pencil, a stick with some charcoal on it. Matthieu turned the page and watched as gilbert wrote down a series of images. The first looked similar to a B but he wasn’t sure if that was correct. Gilbert whined a bit in frustration when he realized that Matthieu still couldn’t understand.   
Snorting a bit Matthieu rubbed the beasts back a bit “don’t worry well figure it out.” Matthieu’s hand was smacked away from Gilbert’s back after the dragon squeaked. The white hair stood up now as Gilbert shook his entire body as if he had chills running down his back.   
——  
Sitting beside Gilbert in the cave Matthieu watched the other closely. He felt happy that he could now move freely without Gilbert jumping or hissing at him. “Do you know how to walk?” Matthieu suddenly asked. Gilbert nodded slightly before trying to get up. Matthieu could barely catch the male when he fell.   
The dragon grumbled again and tightened his fists around the fabric of his clothes. Matthieu wrapped his arms around Gilbert’s waist and pulled both of them off the floor. Gilbert shrieked a bit, and held tightly onto Matthieu’s shirt. Matthieu could practically feel Gilbert’s legs shaking against him.   
Sighing Matthieu tightened his hold on the other to fully support their weight. He could see the freckled scales on Gilbert’s face and shoulders glowing a light pink. “You’re probably having trouble because of the blood loss. Or because of how exhausted you must be from whatever you did to be like this” Matthieu reassured the other.   
Gilbert let out a sigh in defeat and struggled against Matthieu’s hold. Matthieu quickly let go of the others waist. “I should probably be heading home now,” Matthieu stated and grabbed his bag of the floor. Gilbert nodded and watched as he ran out of the cave.   
Matthieu jumped when he ran into a body at the entrance. He nearly fell on the floor before he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt. “What are you doing here?!” Came the whispered shout. Matthieu’s blood ran cold “A-al this isn’t what you think!” Matthieu whispered in return.   
“Oh really Matthieu because it looks like your exactly where I told you not to be” Alfred responded, holding an irritated expression on his face. The boy sighed before rubbing a hand down his face. “I know I can’t stop you from doing this. So tomorrow I’m coming with you, you need some protection after all and I’m the best qualified for that” Alfred stated very quickly.   
Grumbling Matthieu sighed “alright, but I doubt I need any protection. He has had plenty of chances to kill me and hasn’t so I don’t see how you think he will do anything.” Matthieu argued as his brother began walking towards their home. “He’s probably thinking the exact same thing and getting ready to attack. Think about it, he can’t walk well, he’s injured, and he can’t get very far even if he tries to escape. He’s probably desperate and trying to cling to looking like us so we don’t kill him” Alfred responded while skillfully walking backwards over fallen limbs of trees and roots.   
“But he knows I don’t have any weapons on me.” Matthieu reasons “yes, but you could easily overpower him and do whatever you wanted. I doubt you would do anything to him, you apologized to a flower when you stepped on it.” Alfred laughed a bit while carding a hand through his blonde hair. Matthieu flushed a bit. “Hey! I was five when that happened!” Matthieu yelled, eliciting more laughs from the other.   
“You still did it” Alfred argued. “I bet that was when Uncle Al’ decided you weren’t cut out to be a Viking” Alfred laughed a bit. “Yeah...” Matthieu responded quietly. Alfred seemed to notice the sudden change in Matthieu’s attitude and wrapped an arm around the boy. “But you are a killer blacksmith so I count that as a win on your side” Alfred admires. “What jealous that I get to hold the swords of the great Vikings of Reishi?” Matthieu teased a bit, lightly pinching Alfred’s right cheek between his index finger and thumb like one does to a baby.   
Alfred practically melted into a whine. “Yes! I do! Your job is so cool!” Alfred whined. “Says the guy who gets to go outside the island” Matthieu remarked. Even though he wanted to Matthieu doubted he would ever step foot off the island, most non Vikings didn’t ever leave. “Psh you may leave one day. You never know you might go on a voyage, find a nice girl, settle down, and you know the rest~” Alfred winked. Matthieu make a sound like he was gagging and pushed the other away.   
Alfred fell into a fit of giggles and Matthieu soon followed. When both arrived at the little stone grave on the winding path, they were out of breath and red in the face. “Uncle al wants me to pack tonight” Alfred broke the giggles with his words. Matthieu sighed, “well sir I certainly hope you don’t go out there and die on me.” Alfred snorted at the recited line from one of his fathers favorite stories. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving such a fair... maide-blacksmith... to fend for himself in my absence” Alfred added on, stumbling through the line.   
“Oh there you boys are!” Yelled a very relieved voice down the path. They ran towards it quickly, not wanting the other to come down the path as they had the tendency to get emotionally distraught here. Their shortest uncle stood before them at the end of the path. “Heh sorry. We were saying hello” Alfred chuckled lightly while rubbing the back of his head.   
Dylan looked over their shoulder as if to check that somebody was there. After a moment dylan sighed and smiled again at the two. It wasn’t odd behavior from him, he would do this sometimes after Arthur died. “Well it’s time to eat” dylan smiled and pulled both forwards by their sleeves.   
——  
Matthieu felt as if he was living a second life now. He had his first, at home with his uncles, and his second with Gilbert. The only constant in both was Alfred who continued to follow him when he was with Gilbert.   
“Alright so I have an idea” Alfred suddenly announced, startling Gilbert who was watching Matthieu write in his journal. “What is it?” Matthieu asked quickly sitting up straight. “Since Gilbert can’t walk why don’t we go to the pond so he can get better at it without hurting himself.” Alfred said with a proud smirk, walking a bit closer.   
Matthieu had to lean forward so Gilbert could climb behind him to get away from alfred. “It could work..” Matthieu responded. Reaching to pay Gilbert’s knee he asked “what do you think Gil?” He could feel Gilbert’s finger making an ‘X’ on his back. “It would definitely make this current problem easier to fix” Alfred reassured. After a few moments of silence and Alfred stepping a bit closer to get access to their bag, Gilbert finally make a check mark on his back while shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.   
Moving to pick Gilbert up Matthieu watched Gilbert’s eyes. He’d learned over the past few days that the males pupils would swell up sometimes, an adorable sight for sure, when he was interested in something. The red and blue eyes whipped between he and his brother with thin pupils, he was scared. “I’m going to go on ahead” Matthieu said before walking out the entrance of the cave.   
Gilbert watched over his shoulder for the other. “He’s not going to hurt you Gil. You don’t have to do what he tells you” Matthieu reassured the shaking male. He could feel Gilbert shaking his head on his shoulder. Deciding to change the subject Matthieu shifted his hold on Gilbert. “Is this even comfortable?” Matthieu asked, referring to the way he was holding the other.   
He was answered with a little chirp similar to that of a bird. “I’m assuming that means... yes?..” Matthieu questioned once again. Gilbert snorted and nodded into his shoulder. “Yay! I’m getting better at knowing what you mean!” Matthieu stated getting another snort from the other.   
The arms around his neck were gone soon after, and the happy mood was gone. “Gil I’m telling you. Alfred isn’t going to do anything, the most he will do is scare you. He wouldn’t be able to live with me pestering him if he killed you.” Matthieu reassured. He winced when Gilbert pinches his arm. Gilbert wasn’t responding to any more questions so Matthieu stayed silent after a minute.   
Gilbert jumped though when Matthieu set him on the rocks beside the river. “Sorry I should have said something” Matthieu stated quickly. “Finally! I’ve been waiting here for-ever!” the loud voice made both jump. Alfred was sitting in the shallow end of the pond in only his pants. “Are you going to get into the water or what?” Alfred asked quickly.   
The white haired male beside him sighed before dropping himself into the shallow water. Matthieu almost laughed when he froze completely in the water. Alfred chuckled, and walked up beside the now shivering male. “What? The waters not cold” Alfred pokes Gilbert’s cheek in between laughs. The hand was quickly smacked away and Gilbert tried to practically climb Alfreds back to get back onto the rocks. Although it failed and ended with both in the water with short screeches from both.   
When they resurfaced Alfred was laughing and pulling Gilbert out of the water. Gilbert was shivering even more now, teeth chattering a bit. Matthieu pulled him fully out of the water shortly after removing his shirt and cloak. Gilbert leaned on Matthieu as he sat down on the rocks. “Are you sick or something?” Alfred asked and touched Gilbert’s forehead with the back of his hand.   
Alfred’s hand was pushed away from Gilbert’s forehead as the male turned away. Gilbert buries his face in his knees and continued to shiver as the other two watched. Alfred sighed a bit and cursed under his breath. He threw something at Gilbert causing the male to squeak when it hit his back. “Why’d your throw it-!” Matthieu asked, the sentence was ended with a scream as Matthieu was pulled into the water.   
When he resurfaced he pushed his older brother into the water “Alfred!” Gilbert snorted from the side of the pond. His back was now covered in a dark brown coat of fur that was wrapped around him.


	5. Chapter 5

Matthieu was ripped from a peaceful sleep by somebody lightly shaking his shoulders. Opening his eyes he could see Dylan sitting beside him. His uncle had dark circles beneath his eyes that were near bloodshot. Immediately he sat up, fearing the worst. Dylan had jumped at his sudden movements and rubbed his face with his hand.   
“Good your up” Dylan started, the candle on the table beside him leaving a warm glow to cascade across his pale skin. “We are about to leave” he finished and stood up. “Oh.. Oh-! Okay” Matthieu yelled after a moment of realization of what the other was referring to. He stood up and began to pull on his layers of clothing. Dylan chuckled from behind him and stood up. “We are waiting downstairs” Dylan said and began to leave.  
Dylan yawned into his hand as he walked out of the room. Matthieu quickly followed him out and down the stairs. “You should have gotten me up earlier” Matthieu started as he reached the table. Allistar shook his head and ruffled his already messy hair, “you deserve to sleep after all the hard work you’ve been doing” Matthieu soon became accustomed to the familiar hit of Alfred’s boot on the group. Something he only did when he was antsy.   
“We should get going before this one bursts with excitement” Patrick stated while laughing. Patrick pulled out a charcoal sketch from his pocket and placed it on the table. The sketch was of Matthieu’s grandmother and grandfather with all his uncles, and lastly his father who was holding two tiny forms that were only smudges of charcoal in the image.   
Allistar was next, setting a silver ring on the table. Matthieu felt proud to know that the measly ring that he’d made when he’d started blacksmithing was his uncles prized possession. Dylan followed shortly after, reaching to the back of his neck to untie something. Matthieu could see the thick black thread when it was pulled out from under Dylan’s shirt. The candle caught onto the golden button that came out soon after. Sighing a bit Dylan looked at the bottom and then set it in Matthieu’s palm.   
Allistar and Patrick shifted in their seats and looked at their brother while Matthieu held the button in his palm. He knew that the button had belonged to his father when he’d passed. Dylan has found it in the spot Arthur had been taken from, and so he held it in his palm with great care.   
After a moment Allistar coughed and hit Alfred on the shoulder. Alfred quickly broke from whatever daydream he was in and moved to pull something from his pocket. He pulled out a brass pin, a dragon with primroses surrounding it body was carved into the metal. It looked like a family crest, one that their family wouldn’t be able to afford.   
Matthieu remembered the day Alfred found the pin. It was on a ship that had crashed into the island. Everyone on the ship had died so Alfred took their family crest to hopefully find the other members of the family.   
He had made direct eye contact with Alfred who was a bit red due to his embarrassment. Allistar laughed a bit and rubbed his shoulder “well that wasn’t as bad as Patrick’s first attempt.” Patrick gasped and sunk into his seat “I thought we agreed not to bring that up.” “I don’t remember such an agreement...” Dylan smirked from beside the two. Patrick put his face in his hand and sighed. “Well we should start heading to the docks” Allistar stated as he stood up from his chair.   
Alfred jumped up, almost knocking his chair onto the floor. Matthieu could see his eyes practically sparkling in excitement. Grabbing the candle off the table Matthieu carefully lit the candle inside of their glass lantern. He doubted he would need it after living on the island for so long, but he knew his family would murder him if he got hurt when they were away.   
He didn’t notice he quickly they all had walked until they were at the docks. Patrick ruffled his already messed up hair and smirked “don’t die on us.” Dylan smacked the back of his head, getting a giggle from the younger in response. “Relax I was joking! Although I’m serious don’t die on us while we’re gone” Patrick restated.   
Allistar rubbed his back, “watch out for that old hag while were gone. Be warned she’s a wretched beast of I’ve ever seen one. You finally have to take care of her I’m our wake.” Matthieu knew he was referring to Agatha and snorted. He was about to respond when he was pulled into a tight hug. “Remember to take care of yourself. If it came down to you or that cat I would chose you. Berwald should be able to help if you need anything, so don’t be afraid to ask. I will miss you a lot, love you.” Matthieu felt practically suffocated after Dylan’s tight hug.   
“You better not die on me Matthieu. Your the younger one here so don’t even try... your too young! Your too beautiful!” Matthieu have his brother a look that could only be described as, what on earth are you talking about? “Yep I will not die while your gone. Why do you all think I am going to die?” Matthieu laughed while running a hand through his hair.   
Patrick only shrugged and turned to watch Dylan’s pulling Alfred into the wooden boat with difficulty. After a moment Alfred fell over the side and took Dylan to the floor with him. Matthieu could here a slightly pained “wooo” from the boat. He watched as Allistar and Patrick jumped into the boat with ease.   
A cold breeze blew by as the boat began to sail away. All four people on the boat were waving goodbye. The sun had barely started to rise before Matthieu could no longer see them on the horizon. Sighing he turned around and made his way back to the small cottage.   
——  
“-So they won’t be back for two to three weeks...” Matthieu explained to the dragon currently laying on top of his back. Gilbert patted Matthieu’s head lightly. “You have a very flexible spine...” Matthieu remarked out of nowhere. Gilbert squeaked a bit and pulled himself out of the weird position.   
He had been laying on Matthieu’s back and looked as if he was siting backwards since his legs were holding him up. Now he sat on his calves and leaned against the wall. Gilbert yawned into his hand.   
Matthieu felt a little guilty for arriving so early. He did notice the lack of bandages on the others arm, so he knew Gilbert had been up a bit before he arrived. “Sorry for coming here so early.” Matthieu apologized. Gilbert only shook his head and yawned again.   
An idea suddenly came into Matthieu’s head. “What if I took you to my house!” Matthieu yelled, Gilbert jumped at the sudden raise in volume. Shaking his head Gilbert leaned against Matthieu’s shoulder. “Nobody is there right now” Matthieu added to his earlier statement. Gilbert shook his head again, pulling his face into Matthieu’s shoulder. Matthieu could see light circles under the others eyes.   
“Do you have trouble sleeping?” Matthieu asked. He felt Gilbert trace a check into his arm. “Nightmares?” Matthieu question. Another check. “I get nightmares to sometimes. I’ve gotten the same ones for 15 years now.” Matthieu laughed slightly. He felt Gilbert tilt his head, his way of asking questions.   
“My father, he was taken 15 years ago...” Matthieu swallowed down the lump in his throat before continuing. “He was protecting Alfred and I... F-From a dragon...” he stuttered a bit. Gilbert tightened his hold on Matthieu’s arm. “I have a picture of the dragon, I’ve seen it so much in my dreams I finally drew it.” Matthieu started, pulling open his journal and flipping to a well known page.   
Gilbert traced the lines on the page with his index finger. His teeth were clenched as he looked at the beast with a knowing look. “Do you know them?” Matthieu asked quietly. Matthieu could see the tears pooling in Gilbert’s eyes and so he decided to continue the story. “The dragon picked him up... took him into the air, and killed him right in front if Alfred and I” Matthieu finished. Gilbert pulled a hand to his eyes to wipe away the tears.   
A choked sound came from Gilbert, “em sror-rie...” the mess of syllables was barely recognizable. “Oh no don’t apologize I know it wasn’t you.” Matthieu reassured the teary eyed male beside him. Gilbert shook his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Gilbert made a gesture like he was writing something, Matthieu knew he wanted to write something down and quickly handed over his pencil.   
On a clean page Gilbert drew a long string of those characters again. It nearly covered the entire page by the time he wrote a final set and drew a line underneath it. Matthieu looked it over and noticed a few things: it was structured like a letter would be, each character were drawn with care even with how fast Gilbert had been scribbling, and one set of characters kept showing up.   
It was definitely interesting to look at, Matthieu kept scanning over it. Maybe he could find a book of old runes to even get an idea of what they meant. The mystery word from before was also there. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Gilbert, he was sitting there looking back and forth from Matthieu to the page.   
Matthieu took a deep breath and stood up from the floor. Gilbert watched him silently as he packed up his stuff. “I have to go to work. Bye” Matthieu stated meekly and walked out of the cave. He wished he could understand whatever language this was but he doubted he would find anything about it in the village.  
——  
Matthieu had left, again. Gilbert knew writing anything down would scare him away, but he’d hoped that maybe he knew at least one of the runes. Although his hopes were once again shattered when he stood up and left. He felt like crying, he knew he was probably never going to go home and he should just accept that.   
They probably already thought he was dead. This wasn’t the first time he had disappeared and he was sure this time it was official. His family, his brother, they were probably mourning over him by now. He felt his heart ache at the thought of it. Father told him not to cry, ‘big boys don’t cry’ was what he always told him. Although, Gilbert was sure his father wouldn’t mind his tears now, nothing was going right after all. Then again nothing ever had before, but atleast then he could fly away and hide it out if needed; now he just had to sit it out, and hope that Matthieu decides to keep him along.   
He felt useless, he couldn’t fly, he couldn’t speak, he was constantly under the threat of death; and instead of take any of this head on like father had taught him to, he settled to crying like a weakling who was scared of a grass blade. Laying down on one of the blankets in the cave Gilbert sniffled a bit. He was scared of something coming at him now, he couldn’t protect himself. Although he felt a sense of calm about the thought, dying would stop the endless cycle of sorrow that continuously popped up.   
—-  
Rain slapped across his dirt covered face, leaving streaks of murky water. He shivered under his measly shelter and pulled his torn coat tighter around the bundle in his lap. He gasped and then grumbled when he felt the bundle coughed roughly. The bundle began to sniffle after the coughs ended. “Shh it’s alright” he reassured as he rubbed the other back to try and ease of bit of the pain the other was going through.   
A head of blonde hair appeared out of the bundle. Blood streaked down their face from their lip, and their blue eyes were filled with glassy tears. “When’s father going to come back with the medicine?” The younger asked between his sniffles. He sucked in a harsh breathe “I don’t kn-“  
“Gil are you alright?” The younger asked, voice distorting lightly, he began fading away into darkness.   
“Gil wake up...”  
Opening his eyes Gilbert saw Matthieu sitting over him, his eyes filled with worry. Gilbert rubbed his eyes and sat up. Matthieu was only wearing his fur cloak and linen pants. The rest of his clothes were laid out at the front of the cave.   
The pounding of rain could be heard on the roof of the cave. “You looked like you were having a bad dream. So I woke you up.” Matthieu explained. Gilbert nodded slightly and yawned. “The rain got really bad when I arrived so I may be here for a while...” Matthieu said to break the silence.   
Gilbert snorted a bit. His laugh was cut of by a shriek when a cold speck of water fell on the top of his head. It was Matthieu’s turn to laugh before looking at the ceiling of the cave. Gilbert heard a cursing under the others breathe before another drop of water hit him on the head. Quickly moving out of the way Gilbert watched Matthieu inspect the rest of the ceiling.   
“The ceiling is covered in cracks. How did I not see them until now...” Matthieu scolded himself. Matthieu turned towards Gilbert quickly. Gilbert couldn’t even try to guess what the other was thinking before a felt another drop on his head. Grumbling he moved again.   
Suddenly he felt hands on his arms, “Your going to get sick if I leave you out here. I guess I’m lucky that my family is away.” Matthieu remarked. Gilbert let out a confused huff before feeling Matthieu’s wet clothes and bag being pushed into his arms. “I’m gonna run us both to my house. Is that alright?” Matthieu asked, getting a slow nod in response.   
In truth he wasn’t that bothered about the rain, he had worse shelters from rain and in the past. Although being in a house would be nice. He squeaked when he hit Matthieu’s shoulder with his head, he had been daydreaming again.   
“Alright... on three. One... Two... Three!” Matthieu mumbled to himself before running out into the rain. Gilbert tightly held the items he was given as rain pounded against him. He was surprised at how quickly Matthieu could run. It only took a minute or two for them to stop. They weren’t at a house but the leaves above them were tightly weaved together and acted as a dripping shield of sorts.   
Matthieu was heaving in air for a few moments before running out into the rain again. The journey was quickly over as they reached a house quickly. Matthieu used his boot to open it lightly before setting Gilbert on the floor. The cold air was stopped when the door closed behind them.   
Gilbert set Matthieu’s stuff on the floor away from the water soaked clothes. Watching as Matthieu raced around the house. A fluffy object hit him in the face, Gilbert barely caught it before it hit the floor. Looking at the object Gilbert could see it was multiple items wrapped in one. “You should change so your clothes can dry...” Matthieu explained. Matthieu quickly raced up the stairs and closed a door, leaving Gilbert to quickly dry off and change. The clothes he was given were loose on him, but were very comfortable.   
The soft fabrics didn’t feel scratchy against his scales and he felt very warm in them.   
——  
Matthieu pulled on his third shirt that he owned. It felt nice to be dry for once. Opening the door to his and Alfred’s bedroom he walked back downstairs. The first thing he spotted was Gilbert, who was rubbing the green fabric of the shirt between his fingers. The shirt fit him like a short dress, ending at the middle of his thighs.   
Laughing a bit Matthieu walked over to the fireplace. Quickly using the materials laid there he started the fire. Gilbert stumbles over and settled down beside Matthieu. “Are the clothes comfortable?” Matthieu asked while laughing. Gilbert smiled and nodded.   
“I’m glad.” Matthieu smiles back. He yawned into his hand a bit. “I should start cooking some food.” Matthieu stated as he got up. Gilbert stayed in his spot by the fire, watching Matthieu move around the room. Matthieu poured some well water from a bucket into a small wooden bowl. As he was turning to look for what else he needed he almost screamed at Gilbert’s sudden appearance at his side. He was using the table to help hold himself up and looking at Matthieu.   
Matthieu laughed slightly “when did you get here so quick?” He asked jokingly. The other snorted, following him around as he gathered more ingredients for the meal he was going to make for the both of them. He set the ingredients down on the table to the side, and reached into a lower cabinet for something else. He pulled out a thick piece of wood from the cabinet. “Do you know how to wash and cut these?” Matthieu asked gesturing to the assortment of vegetables.   
Gilbert nodded and quickly got to work, using a small bowl with water to clean them. “I will be right back” Matthieu stated as he pulled the opening to their cellar up. He was hit with a blast of the cold air from inside almost immediately. Quickly going inside he grabbed a small piece of salted meat, something his uncles had bought two days before.   
Taking it back up the stairs he heard quick chopping on the piece of wood with the blade he had left behind. After he had closed the opening to the cellar, he watched in awe at how quickly and effectively Gilbert was cutting the vegetables. All of them were cut evenly and cleanly. “Wow” Matthieu said after Gilbert swiped the cut vegetables into the bowl of water beside him. Gilbert jumped at Matthieu’s sudden voice and almost dropped both objects he was holding into the bowl.   
The cutting board and knife were quickly set on the table as Matthieu brought the small bit of meat over. “Could you get a small pan out of that cabinet?” Matthieu asked, pointing a finger to a lower one. Gilbert nodded and quickly grabbed a pan with legs on the bottom. Matthieu thanked him and set the newly cut pieces on meat into the pan.   
The room fell into a comfortable silence, Gilbert worked to clean the vegetables more, and Matthieu cut the rest of the meat. When both had finished they set it all into the pan, before taking it to the fire to cook it.   
Matthieu worked swiftly to cook the meal, Gilbert watched beside him, lightly leaning on his shoulder. Matthieu watched his white pupils continuously dilate and thin out, practically mesmerized by them.   
When gilbert squeaked and pulled the the pan from the fire, Matthieu snapped his attention back. The vegetables had lightly been burned, if Gilbert hadn’t grabbed them then they would be eating charred deer.   
“Oh sorry I didn’t notice! I will get us some bowls...” Matthieu jumped away to the dining area, grabbing two bowls, and running back.   
He barely filled Gilbert’s before the other picked up a piece of cooked deer, looked at it with a questioning look, and then bit into it. Matthieu couldn’t stop his smile as Gilbert hummed, sinking into himself a bit.   
“Does it taste good?” He laughed, Gilbert looked offended by the question, although, he nodded so fast Matthieu thought his head might pop off. “My uncle taught me how to make it, he’s a great cook when he isn’t talking about-“ Matthieu stopped himself. Maybe mentioning his uncles interest in trying dragon meat wasn’t the best idea...  
He decided to let the rest of the meal be silent.   
——  
Matthieu tucked the blankets into a little pile, it was enough to make the floor comfortable. “Alright. Sorry it isn’t the most comfortable thing, but it will have to do...” Matthieu said, smoothing out the top blanket.   
Gilbert sat behind him, curled up in a blanket, he looked exhausted. Matthieu snorted at him, shaking his head slightly in exasperation.   
After dragging the nearly sleeping dragon onto the bed, Matthieu readjusted the blanket around the other. “Goodnight Gil” he said, the other made a small noise and waved slightly.   
Matthieu smiled as he went upstairs to his and Alfred’s room. He didn’t know why, but tonight had flown by, passing in a quick pace that he couldn’t keep up with.   
Gilbert seemed so comfortable here, with him, that it made Matthieu feel a little giddy about how he was being trusted by such a gentle man.


End file.
